Yesterday I, Pastor Todd, continued our series on getting the most out of our Bibles by understanding important (yet often ignored) elements of Scripture. Today, I’d like to reflect and recap the topic of Covenants in the Bible. To hear the full message, click here.

The Covenants Defined Relationships (DTR)

DTR is a common term now days. It means “Determine the Relationship). Most often, it is used in the context of two people of the opposite sex. There comes a time to determine whether the relationship will be a romantic endeavor or stay platonic (just friends). The covenants of the Bible are a means of establishing the parameters of the relationship between God and people He is addressing. Covenants essential “determine the relationship” though romance has nothing to do with it. Just like with personal relationships, each relationship is unique and has its own parameters. There are six covenants in the Bible that God has made with various persons/people. Let’s look at each of those briefly.

Covenant with Adam

God’s covenant with Adam was simple: Be fruitful and multiply, name the creatures, subdue the earth and rule over it, avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As with every covenant, there were consequences for breaking the covenant. With Adam and Eve, the consequences affected all of mankind from that point on. Toil and sweat would accompany Adam’s governing of the world. Increased pain in birthing would accompany every birth. And a power struggle would arise in the most intimate of human relationships: between a man and a woman.

Yet in all this, the covenant mandate is still in effect. Humans are still called to have dominion over the created world. They are still called to be fruitful and multiply.

Covenant with Noah

God’s covenant with Noah is like the covenant with Adam in that it is global in scope. All the created world is affected by the Covenant with Noah. After the destruction of the world, God called Noah to repopulate the world. As a result, Noah became a means of salvation for the future of humanity. God also promised Noah that He would not destroy all life through water again. He placed the rainbow in the sky as a memorial of that promise.

Covenant with Abraham

God’s covenant with Abraham was that he would inherit land and his offspring would be countless. Abraham needed only to believe in God and follow where he led. Additionally, nations would arise from Abraham’s seed, as well as blessing for all mankind.

By becoming a sojourner, Abraham trekked all through the land of Canaan, which would become his inheritance. He had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. It is clear that the full covenant promise would be handed down to Isaac. However, since Ishmael was a descendant of Abraham, he and his offspring received part of the covenant promise: becoming a nation. The same went for Esau, Isaac’s older son, who established the Edomites. Yet the full covenant promise passed to Isaac and Jacob. We need to remember, this covenant “only” applied to descendants of Abraham.

Covenant with Moses and Israel

The Sinai Covenant was the first covenant that really emphasized the obedient actions of Israel as adherents to the covenant. Stipulations from social morality to personal sanitation were to set Israel apart from the other nations. God’s promise through this covenant provided a means of forgiveness when people failed to uphold the covenant. He provided ways for His presence to be with the nation. The Sinai Covenant separated an entire nation apart for special relationship with God. This covenant only set apart the nation of Israel. Unlike the covenant with Abraham, the Ishmaelites, the Edomites, and the Amalekites were excluded. This only applied to Israelites.

Covenant with David

The Covenant with King David was even more exclusive than the Sinai Covenant. Where the Sinai Covenant applied exclusively to the nation of Israel, the David Covenant applied exclusively to one Israelite family: David’s.

God promised David he would have an heir on the throne forever. This promise of an eternal throne set David’s lineage apart from every other Israelite family.

New Covenant

The birth of the New Covenant concept came during the Babylonian Captivity, through the prophet Jeremiah. In Jer. 31, the Lord states since Israel broke the Sinai Covenant, He would create a New Covenant where His Laws would be etched internally in each person, no on external tablets and scrolls. The amazing thing about the New Covenant is that it systematically fulfills all the other covenants.

1. The Covenant with David was the narrowest covenant in that only descendants of David could be part of it. When Jesus came, the simple act of him being born qualified him for the Covenant with David. After his death and resurrection, He was seated at the right hand of God the Father. He is now forevermore, the King of kings, and Lord of Lords that will rule for eternity, on the throne of David.
2. The Sinai Covenant expanded out from the David Covenant as it applied to all of Israel. Jesus fulfilled all the stipulations of the Sinai covenant from moral purity, to faithfulness to God the Father, to becoming a ritual sacrifice. By fulfilling (not abolishing) the Sinai Covenant, Jesus is able to empower modern day believers to exceed the Sinai Covenant because He has given the Holy Spirit to dwell inside us. This essentially means God has written His laws on our hearts.
3. Jesus then fulfills the Abraham Covenant because He is the seed of Abraham. Also, it is through Jesus that any person from any nation can come to salvation and eternal life. By becoming the savior of the world and humanity, Jesus, as seed of Abraham, is a blessing to every nation, and to the world. The promises to Abraham come to complete fulfillment through Jesus.
4. The Adam and Noah Covenants had the widest reach in that they affected things on a creation level. That means the trees, the grass, the water, all the earth and everything living on it were/are affected by the Noah and Adam Covenants. Jesus fulfilled these covenants as well by 1. Re-introducing access to the Tree of Life, which is Jesus himself. 2. Promising all creation will be made new. The cosmic fallout we see described in 2 Peter and Revelation show that all creation will be affected by Jesus’ work on the cross. Even the plants and oceans are corrupted by human sin. In the end, Jesus will purify/re-create all creation. We see hints of that in Romans 8:19 and on.

Conclusion

The amazing thing about the New Covenant is that it integrates, fulfills, and validates the previous five covenants. Unless we understand how powerful each of the five covenants are in the Old Testament, we will sell ourselves short of the wonder, the power, the awe, the genius of God’s plan in fulfilling them all. These covenants spanned thousands of years, involving countless lifetimes and people groups. Yet in the end, God’s plans, though starting with Abraham and Israel, resulted in expanding to all of creation and all of mankind.

This is the profound truth backing the Gospel we believe. When we make a confession of faith in Jesus, we are in a sense, adding to the testimony of God’s faithfulness throughout the ages in all of these covenants as it is narrowed down to the specifics of our personal life and salvation.

Thank you for reading my post today. As with everything at TGP, I hope it helps you better experience God’s

Presence. Love. Power.